Detecting Dark Photons with Reactor Neutrino Experiments.

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in physics.
• Light U(1) dark photons are a compelling dark matter candidate.
• Previous searches have not fully explored the low-mass region.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of nuclear reactors as a source for producing light dark photons.
• To constrain the properties of dark photons using existing experimental data.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the Compton-like process (γe^{-}→A^{'}e^{-}) within nuclear reactors to produce dark photons.
• Analyzing data from the NEOS and TEXONO reactor neutrino experiments.
• Deriving upper limits on the dark photon-photon mixing parameter (ε).

Main Results:

• Established 95% confidence-level upper limits on the mixing parameter ε for dark photon masses below 1 MeV.
• Achieved limits of ε<1.3×10^{-5} (NEOS) and ε<2.1×10^{-5} (TEXONO).

Conclusions:

• Nuclear reactors are demonstrated as viable sources for intense low-mass dark photon fluxes.
• The study provides significant constraints on dark photon properties, narrowing the parameter space for dark matter searches.